by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady's golden right hand sure appeared to be swollen as he gutted out another escape job on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

In fact, given the close-ups by the CBS cameras, the hand - apparently dinged to some degree early in the game - was pretty much one of the co-stars to the New England Patriots' comeback victory.

Or so it seemed.

"It's perfect," Brady maintained after the 27-17 victory against the Miami Dolphins.

Sure enough, a half-hour after the game, there was no cast, no bandage, not even an ice bag on the thing. Exhale, Patriots fans.

But there was still some explaining to do.

After all, Brady largely did not appear to be himself for much of Sunday, in which he passed for his fewest yards (116) in a game in nearly four years.

And who knows? Maybe the ice bag came Sunday night.

Is it bothering you at all?

"Absolutely not," he insisted.

Told that it looked swollen, he seemed irritated by the conclusion, "I didn't know anyone knows what the back of my right hand looks like, but it looks fine to me and it feels good.

"I'll be out there next week. You don't have to worry about that."

Just because Brady declares himself a go for next Sunday's visit from the Pittsburgh Steelers doesn't mean you can't believe your lying eyes.

Especially when it comes to injuries and the Patriots, who like other teams in the NFL have a reputation of not revealing much in that category.

Sure, Brady made the injury report last week, listed as "probable" with a shoulder issue.

That's a standard practice. Brady has been listed as such routinely for like a decade, which makes you wonder if that's Bill Belichick's way of thumbing his nose up at the NFL's injury protocol.

Typically, when there are known, serious injury concerns, Belichick has a response of saying there will be an update on the injury report.

Belichick evaded a couple of questions about Brady's hand on Sunday.

"I thought he had plenty of good throws today," he said.

In any event, there's suddenly something else to scrutinize as Brady grinds through his most challenging season.

The overhaul and injuries to his supporting cast are issues that have likely affected timing. And the drops and missed assignments by the young receivers didn't help. But Brady's accuracy - he completed 13 of 22 passes and had a 69.5 efficiency rating against Miami - hasn't been as consistent as it once was.

He hasn't hit deep balls like he used to. The Patriots have struggled on third downs and in the red zone. Until Sunday, they hadn't scored a touchdown all season in the third quarter.

But through all of that, they keep winning. They trailed 17-3 on Sunday, but ended the day with a 6-2 record that keeps them first in the AFC East.

It just seems to happen.

Ask the New Orleans Saints. Two weeks ago, the Patriots escaped with Brady flinging the winning TD pass with five seconds left.

The script was different this time, but the twists were reminiscent.

A sack here. A fumble there. A penalty. A missed field goal.

It was like the Dolphins woke up and realized they were Dolphins.

Through the first half, Ryan Tannehill wasn't sacked once. That was significant when considering he entered the game having taken an NFL-high 26 sacks.

In the second half, Tannehill was sacked six times.

And when Tannehill went deep for one of the few times, more magic.

The game's most athletic play came early in the fourth, when Devin McCourty tapped the football as if it was a volleyball, keeping it alive for Marquice Cole to snag the interception.

On paper, the Patriots finished Miami off with a 12-play, 82-yard drive capped by Stevan Ridley's 3-yard TD. But really, the Dolphins were finished when Brady scrambled for a first down on fourth-and-4 and then dodged potential disaster.

Two snaps after the scramble, Brady's sack and apparent fumble was wiped out by a questionable Miami penalty, as Oliver Vernon was flagged for illegal tapping when it appeared he was reaching for the loose football.

That was the real back-breaker, as it kept the drive moving.

Brady will take it.

"You start slow, and you just try to grind it out," he said. "I mean, we're 6-2. We're at a decent place in our division. Would we love to be 8-0? Sure. So would every other team in the NFL. We're fighting through it."